Bonding Over Lost Parents
by Cody The Pikachu
Summary: Katara and Simba suddenly meet each other in a dream, looking for comfort from someone. While they talk, they find out some things they have in common as well as find differences. One-shot!


**Cody The Pikachu: Hey there, everyone! I've decided to upload a new one-shot story, and it'll be one for hurt and comfort this time. I've decided to bring together two characters from different series, but it's not a pairing story. These characters are Katara from Avatar: The Last AirBender and Simba from The Lion King.**

**Why I decided to do this one-shot is because of one thing they have in common: they lost a parent they had loved so much, so get ready for a rather long explanation. Katara had lost her mother Kya to a Fire Nation raid and hadn't completely gotten over it. She had taken to maternal roles, looking after the villagers and keeping Sokka in line. As for Simba, he had lost his father Mufasa to his uncle (and Mufasa's brother) Scar, being pushed into a wildebeest herd. Unlike Katara, Simba ran off (because Scar made him believe it was his fault) to Timon and Pumbaa's jungle and learned Hakuna Matata. He did go back, though, after a little pep from Mufasa and Rafiki.**

**So there you go. And this will take place after The Swamp in ATLA and before the He's Alive scene from The Lion King. Finally, here's the disclaimer and the rest of the story!**

**Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last AirBender doesn't belong to me; it belongs to Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. And The Lion King doesn't belong to me either; it belongs to Disney.**

**Publishing Date: May 26, 2014**

**Enjoy!**

**...**

_**Bonding Over Lost Parents**_

The grass was too tall and thick for the young WaterBender to see the path ahead. She had no idea where she was or how she had gotten there, but she felt rather calm by where she was at. When she had arrived here, she had been dropped off at a jungle after having witnessed a battle in the North Pole a few days ago. It was strange how she had fallen asleep next to her Avatar friend and her brother, a bison, and a lemur only to wake up in this world. Plus, the weather here was a bit warmer than she was used to even it was nighttime, so she had taken her parka off.

Being all alone in the grass reminded her of when she and her brother were lost in a blizzard when they were children. She had her brother beside her, but she had always felt alone even when her mother was still alive. The raid on her village, however, had left her traumatized but made her continue holding on as she took up the responsibility of maternal roles. Wetness began appearing in her eyes as she even remembered seeing a false vision of her in the swamp, but she tried her best to wipe them away with the sleeve on her parka; crying wouldn't solve anything, she always thought. She couldn't think about missing her mother right now; she had to find a way out of here.

Suddenly, she heard a voice up ahead, saying, "Father...I'm so sorry...it's all my fault" and the sound of footsteps on leaves. The teenage girl quickly hid behind a tree and peeked around to see what was walking by.

Before her and looking to the stars...was a large male lion looking to the sky. His reddish-auburn mane took on a silvery glow in the pale moonlight, his golden pelt rippled a bit in the breeze, and his amber eyes looked forlorn. She wondered what was up with him, but she was very reluctant to go near him. What if he tried to eat her if he turned around to see her. Just then, the lion had approached the cliff close by, looked up to the stars, and sighed as he collapsed.

Seeing him look so dispirited made the girl feel sympathetic for him. Whatever misgivings she had for the lion eating her faded away, and she stepped out from behind the tree as she approached him. Bittersweet memories of her mother flooding into her heart, she reached out and gently laid a hand on the lion's mane...but he gave a roar and leapt back, scooting forward until he was away from the cliff. When he stood up to look her in the face, she saw that he was almost taller than her, but he was still a huge cat in size instead of height.

"I'm so sorry," the girl said, wondering if she should step forward or not.

"It's...it's okay," the lion rasped, looking back over the cliff. "Just...don't scare me like that, okay? Timon and Pumbaa would be wondering where I was...they're my best friends, by the way." His eyes suddenly narrowed as he asked, "Who are you, anyway? I've never seen someone like you around here."

The girl looked to the side, fiddling around with her hair. "My name, you mean? I'm Katara."

The lion nodded. "That's a good name, though it's kinda exotic. Well, my name's Simba...and I've never heard a human talking with animals before." He kinked his head over the jungle and said, "How about you take a dip in the pool with me? Just one between...a lion and a human. Nothing bad, though."

Katara smiled a bit. "That sounds good. And thank you, Simba."

With a slight nod and a little smile, Simba led the way into the jungle, leaving Katara to feel quite trusting towards the lion. They headed deeper into the jungle, hearing the night noises like crickets chirping and owls hooting; it was like they were in the spirit world...as Aang had described it. Finally, the human girl and the lion had arrived at a large pool of water that reflected the stars, a diving cliff like a diving board way above their heads.

Simba immediately jumped in, causing quite the splash that Katara had to avoid. She took her time in taking her outer clothes off until she was in the sarashi she always wore whenever she went swimming, and she let her thick bushy hair loose from its braids as it fell just to her back. Heat was rising into her cheeks when she saw Simba watching her curiously, and she inched her way inch by inch into the water until it was up to her shoulders.

"Timon and Pumbaa won't be up until tomorrow morning," Simba explained as he swam over to her. "They might be mad at me for shedding a bit in the pool, but hey, we can always pick it out tomorrow. Hakuna Matata."

Hearing the shedding part, Katara quickly got out of the water, a hand over her heaving chest. "Are...you serious? You're shedding?! That's so gross!"

Simba nodded an apology and chuckled. "Yeah, sorry. That's a male lion for you." He climbed out of the pool and sat down next to her, asking, "Katara, are you okay? I didn't scare you with my shedding, did I?"

"No, it's not that," Katara murmured, feeling the playfulness fade. "First, what does Hakuna Matata mean?"

"It means no worries," Simba said. "Timon and Pumbaa taught me that when they found me in the desert. You see, bad things happen, and there's nothing you can do about it."

Katara looked up into his concerned feline face. "But what if there was? What if there was something you can do in the past to change it? Anything at all?"

Simba tilted his head to the side. "Change the past? But you can't change it. You just gotta put the past behind you."

"What if I don't WANT to put the past behind me?!" Katara found her voice rising a bit, but she didn't care. "I can't see why anyone wouldn't want to change the past! Wouldn't it be better if we could change it? So don't you tell me otherwise!"

"I'm sorry," Simba mumbled, inching a bit away from her. "I...didn't mean to upset you."

That made Katara instantly regret pouring her anger out on her new friend. She had wished she could go back in time and stop the Fire Nation from killing her mother. Aang and Sokka would always be there for her, but Kya not being there...it had left a large hole that couldn't be completely healed. And now she had vented that pain and sorrow on Simba, and she didn't want him to get a bad impression on her.

She gently reached over and stroked his mane, making him look over at her in surprise. Katara then said, "Simba, I'm so sorry I snapped. I just said all of that because of my mother Kya. She...she died when I was a little girl."

The young adult lion padded back over to her. "Really? What happened to her?"

"An enemy nation had raided my tribe...back when my brother and I were children," Katara managed to spill out. "We were playing around together...but then the Fire Nation attacked. There was chaos, blood, and fire everywhere, and I had to find my mother...but when I found her, she was already injured, and a soldier was getting ready to attack her again. She told me to hurry and get out of there, so I had to go and tell my father about it."

"Oh..." Unknowingly to Katara, Simba was thinking of the death of his father all over again. "What happened next?"

Katara felt the tears start pouring down her cheeks. "Then...when we came back...she was dead. She was _dead_. Gone forever...if only I was a bit faster in getting help...it was all my fault..."

But she couldn't continue, for the feelings of despair were now washing over her. Ignoring the fact that she already had company, she brought her face closer to her legs and started crying softly.

Beside her, Simba was gazing at her in sympathy. Hearing about what Kya had done for Katara reminded him of what Mufasa had done for him before he died. It was also like seeing him fall back into the wildebeest stampede...and Scar's words of "If it weren't for you, he would still be alive" rang in his ears...but there was someone who needed that sympathy right now. And that was his new friend.

Just then, suddenly, Katara felt something large and furry brush her face until all she saw was red fur around her. Simba had stepped forward and started rubbing his face against hers; the WaterBender had learned from Aang that cats did this to comfort one another since he was an expert on animals. When that was done, he stepped back a bit and started licking at her face with a rough tongue, clearing away the tears.

"I'm...sorry to hear all that. And it's not your fault, Katara," Simba murmured, stepping back when he was done. "I know what it's like to lose a parent too. My father Mufasa died when I was a cub."

"Really?" Katara sniffled, trying to clear some more tears away. "What...happened to him?"

Simba growled softly and looked away. "There was a wildebeest stampede on that day, in a gorge. My father was there on that day with my uncle Scar; my father was a brave, kind, and wise king, and he had always looked out for me. He got me out of the stampede before the herd could crush me...but...he lost his balance and fell back into the stampede...and they crushed him."

Katara fell back a bit, shocked at all this. "That's...horrible. How did your uncle react to it?"

"He told me it was my fault my father was dead," Simba mumbled, his voice cracking. "And it's true...it WAS my fault..."

"Simba..." Katara got up and walked over to the lion, her slender body almost hidden by his mane as she gave him a hug. "Whatever your uncle said, it was NOT your fault. Mufasa just lost his footing...there was nothing else you could've done."

Simba wrenched himself away from her and glared at her, tears just forming in his amber eyes. "How would you know?"

Katara tried not to flinch under his glare. "Because you tried to cheer me up when I was upset about my mom. It was time I returned the favor. Why don't you try going back home?"

"I can't go back to the Pridelands," Simba insisted. "I'm not a real king. It means I have to face my past."

"You can try and be the true king...but I guess I can't argue with you anymore on this." Katara knew that Aang had to face the fact that the Air Nomads were gone, but convincing a big cat to face his past was going to be a challenge. So she gave a sigh and sat down, leaning against the young male lion. "But whatever you decide, it'll be all up to you. And you got your friends...Timon and Pumbaa, they were called?"

Simba nodded, allowing her to hug him again. "Yeah. And thanks, Katara. I feel kinda better now."

"Same to you, Simba." The WaterBender yawned and sat up to stretch her arms. "I'm getting really tired, though. Can I sleep next to you tonight? Just to rest until I find my way back."

Simba pawed at his eyes a bit. "Sure. Try and get comfy." He laid down in the grass on his side and let out a yawn, revealing large canine teeth, before laying his head down on his paws. "'Night, Katara. I'm glad to have met you."

Katara smiled and laid down beside him, leaning against his body again. "You too, Simba. Good night."

And with that, the two of them fell asleep, the night breeze blowing by them.

Later, Katara woke up with a yawn and felt warmer now. She still had her clothing on, and she was sleeping out in the open clearing where she, Aang, Sokka, Appa, and Momo were at. They had been on their way around the Earth Kingdom to help Aang look for an EarthBending teacher, and she was now happy to be back where she belonged. But she couldn't go back to sleep, for she couldn't help but think over the dream she had recently.

It had seemed so real to her, meeting a lion with the same problem she had. But why were she and Simba chosen to have the same dream and not Sokka? Still...it felt good to release her sadness and share it with someone else...even though she had friends with her to help out. Sokka didn't have as strong of a relationship with Kya as she did, and Aang couldn't remember his parents clearly. But now that Simba wasn't here...she could try and deal with it in the real world instead of a dream...though she would never forget what she and her dream lion friend shared.

"Katara?" Aang had woken up, looking tired yet worried for her. "You okay?"

"Y-Yeah," Katara murmured, thinking back to when Simba comforted her. "I just had a dream of my mom..."

Aang's worried face turned to kind sympathy. "You miss her a lot, don't you? I wish I could've known her too." His face suddenly blushed as he asked, "You look really sleepy. So do you wanna...spend the night with me tonight?"

That made Katara blush too. She hadn't thought of that, sleeping next to a friend like that, but...it did sound like when she asked Simba if they could sleep next to each other.

So she ended up saying, "...okay."

"Alrighty then, just get comfy." Aang wriggled over to one side of his sleeping bag before letting Katara settle in beside him. Once they were both settled in the sleeping back together, he whispered, "'Night."

"Good-night, Aang," Katara whispered back. Being with the young Avatar felt rather nice and warm, like with Simba.

And with that, they fell asleep next to each other. Katara felt like she was going back to the dream world to visit her new lion friend...and maybe Aang could be friends with him too. That way, they could dream together.

**The End**

**...**

**Cody The Pikachu: There we go, folks! I hope you like this story because I had a fun time writing it. If there's anything you see wrong with the story or if I'm missing anything, please let me know, and I'll fix it.**

**I had been wanting to do a small FanFic like this for a pretty long while. These two have some things in common as well as finding out what makes them different from each other. But this is NOT a pairing FanFic, by the way. And I know you know how they deal with the past: Katara almost kills the guy who kills her mom but stops at the last moment, letting him live and suffer the pathetic life he was living. And Simba went back to challenge his uncle Scar and became the king of Pride Rock. But again, I know that you all know that, and I'm happy to have made this FanFic.**

**Today is Memorial Day, everyone! Anyone who reads and reviews this story will get virtual foods with red, white, and blue colors along with a plush doll of your favorite Avatar: The Last AirBender or Lion King character. I do NOT allow flames on this story or others, but I DO welcome advice, questions, and constructive criticism as long as you're polite about it.**

**See ya next time! And Happy Memorial Day!**


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